Historical Journal Spring 2011

Transcription

1 Historical Journal L I T I T Z H I S T O R I C A L F O U N D A T I O N P.O. Box E. Main Street, Lititz, PA Museum, Mueller House, Tours, & Gift Shop Hours: Friday & Saturday 10am 4pm starting May 6th Monday Saturday 10am 4pm beginning May 30st Through October 1st, 2011 Museum & Gift Shop: 10am 4pm Friday & Saturday From Oct. 7th thru Dec. 17th Board of Directors: Randy Weit President Kenneth Martin Vice President Charles Steifvater Secretary Cathy Doremus Treasurer Carl Brubaker Director Cathy Doremus Director Teri Forster Director Beverly Maddox Director Kenneth Martin Director Randy Miller Director Tom Oehme Director Charles Steifvater Director Cory Van Brookhoven Director Randy Weit Director Newsletter Editor: Cory Van Brookhoven Dairies of Lititz and Warwick Township Charlene Van Brookhoven Editor s Note: Below are excerpts from The Dairies of Lititz and Warwick Township, Lancaster County which will be a special publication issued by the Foundation. It will coincide with a milk bottle and dairy memorabilia display that we will feature in one of our exhibit rooms for our museum s opening in May. Many of the rural farms surrounding Lititz and Warwick Township had small herds of cows which supplied milk, butter and cream to their family and neighbors. The Garber Reist Company began operating a dairy in Lititz in In 1901 Eli L. Garber of 22 North Broad Street realized the need for proper and safe handling of milk and also getting it directly to the consumer. He began a small operation, The Lititz Creamery, with Garber s E.D. print butter as his most popular item. In 1910 Garber incorporated his growing milk business into The Lancaster Sanitary Milk Company and began deliveries to the city of Philadelphia as well as locally. In 1873 Jonas Brubaker bought a farm at the corner of Newport and Brunnerville Roads. He purchased it from the Huber family who acquired the land from one of William Penn s sons. J. Clayton Brubaker, grandson of Jonas, began the family dairy industry in 1905 and named it Spruce Villa Dairy. He began bottling milk and selling it to homes in the neighborhood. Before the bottling process, milkmen went from door to door with their horse and wagons filled with cans of raw milk. They poured milk into pitchers or other containers which the customer would supply. In 1922 Clayton Brubaker decided to sell his milk delivery routes; but when the Depression came along in 1929, he started home delivery once again. Early photo of Lancaster Sanitary Milk s truck. This business had origins in Lititz. Continued on page 3...

2 2 Randy Weit FROM THE PRESIDENT The Lititz Historical Foundation will hold its Annual Plant Exchange on Sunday, May 1 st at 1:00 PM. The event will be held in the Mary Oehme Gardens, behind the Museum buildings at East Main Street in Lititz, rain or shine. The plants to exchange must be perennials and must have identification tags for each plant. Each plant must be placed in a container for transportation. Upon arrival, a ticket will be handed out for each plant. The plants must be placed in categories; Sun, Shade, Exotic, Bulbs, Herbs and Ground Cover. These tickets can be redeemed for another plant after all plants are placed in the categories and the people have some time to explore the Plant Exchange categories. Photograph from our 2010 Plant Exchange An announcement will be made at approximately 1:30 PM to select plants in exchange for your tickets. The Lititz Garden Club members will be on hand for assistance and to help answer gardening questions. You can bring 1, 2, 5, or more plants and enjoy the afternoon in the Foundation s Gardens! The event is open to the public and there is no charge for this event, but a free will donation can be made to help maintain the Gardens. 49th Annual Antique Show Slated for June 24th & 25th Ken Martin This year marks the 49th annual Historical Foundation Antique Show. It really is difficult to believe that so many years have passed so quickly. The antique show is our largest fundraiser of the year and we need everyone to help us with their support. We look forward to you assisting in any way possible. We thank everyone for their support in the past and look forward to all of you helping again with this years show. The dates of the show are Friday June 24th, and Saturday June 25th. Dottie Garrett has accepted the task of heading up the bake sale and the calling of the members for their support. Whether it is donating a baked good or giving a cash donation, truly, every bit helps. Please call Dottie at for more information or to make a donation. We look forward to seeing you at this years show! Next year is the BIG 50th anniversary of our show, and plans are already in the works to make our 50th the most special to date! GIFT SHOP NEWS You will want to come into the Gift Shop to see all the new merchandise for Spring and Summer. You will find a large selection of garden art for both your indoor and outdoor plants. Some of the stakes for your plants are made from unusual recycled pieces to represent dragonflies, fire flies and bees. These are made by a handicapped man in Iowa. We always carry an assortment of woven runners made by Heirloom Weavers in Red Lion, PA, and decorated gourds and bird houses grown and crafted near Carlisle, PA. As always, we have a large choice of glass stars in many sizes and colors. These are made in Wescosville, PA. Again this year, we will be featuring the colorful fabric purses, tote bags, aprons and potholders made here in Lititz by Portia Bowman. The small Lititz crocks, made in nearby Adamstown, are also available for gift giving or as a souvenir for visiting guests. Remember member receive a 10% discount on regularly priced merchandise.

3 3 Dairies of Lititz and Warwick Township con t: Graybill s Dairy was located in the village of Halfville in Penn Township but used R.D. 2, Lititz, PA as their business address. Halfville encompasses a very small crossroad area on West Newport Road, heading towards Elm and Penryn. Abram S. and Anna Graybill owned a dairy farm on Newport Road and began selling milk in Their 6 year old son loaded his express wagon with a dozen bottles of milk and delivered them to a few Halfville neighbors before his school day began. Soon the boy s father, and also the bottler of his fine quality milk, was loading his truck and reaching out to new customers saw Graybill s Dairy joining the Wengert s Dairy family of milk distributors located in Lebanon, Pa. Although owned by Wengert s, Graybill s Dairy was assigned all of Lancaster County under their own logo. During the 1990 s Graybill s Dairy shut down production and ended the business. LOG CABIN FARMS AMONG THE BEST TO BE FOUND is the heading of an article in the July 15, 1937 Progressive Weekly, a publication distributed each Thursday by Keehn s Printing at 8 E. Lemon Street in Lititz. John Keehn, owner and publisher of The Progressive Weekly, wrote The Log Cabin Farms, located near Lititz, and owned by Sen. H.J. Pierson, has often been pointed to as a model dairy farm, only the highest breeds of cattle being included in their herds. People who use products from these farms can use them with the satisfaction of knowing they are using the cleanest dairy products available. Best for Babies was imprinted on the bottle caps of Log Cabin Farms milk bottles. Pierson s Log Cabin Farms dairy was located along Owl Hill Road. Henry J. Pierson came to Lancaster County from New Jersey in 1929 to manage The Consumers Box Board & Paper Company which later became Morgan Paper Company on North Cedar Street. He purchased Audubon Villa, the former home of Beck School for Boys on South Broad Street. There was some concern from the Beck family that Pierson would drop the name Audubon Villa at the time of purchase. However, Pierson continued to call his new home by the same name Beck had given to it. Pierson became a Pennsylvania Senator for the 17 th District in Lititz Springs Dairy began bottling milk in 1925 by John Z. Painter in what was the carding mill of the early Moravian community of Lititz. The original mill s stone foundation is part of a home located along the Lititz Run on Oak Street north of Main Street. Painter purchased the dairy from Mr. Bixler who also operated a dairy at that location. Water power from the Lititz Springs Creek (later renamed Lititz Run) was used to operate the dairy until it was converted to electricity and the mill race was closed. Mr. Painter employed 5 men to work at his dairy and also to drive 3 teams through town and the surrounding area. Lititz Springs Dairy was in operation for about eight years until the Great Depression put Mr. Painter financially out of business. Walnut Grove Dairy, between Lititz and Rothsville across Pierson Road, was owned by W. Martin Hess. In the late 1920 s Mart Hess began peddling milk and cream with his one horse cart through the streets of Lititz. Ten years later he purchased an Overland truck which made his milk route more easily traveled. He hired older Lititz school boys to work on the dairy. The boys would arrive at 4 a.m. to deliver Walnut Grove milk before the start of school and earned $.10 per hour for their efforts. Park View Dairy was located on West Orange Street and operated by Roy S. Buch. Mr. Buch began bottling his milk in the early 1920 s with The Park View Dairy label. The Buch farm is now owned by The Warwick School District and is located on the west side of their land. Roy Buch was a dairy farmer and bottled his milk under this Park View Dairy label. To purchase the expanded, full edition of this story in its entirety, please visit our gift shop when the museum opens. It will also be available for purchase through the mail.

4 4 RECENT ACQUISITIONS The museum has recently acquired the below generous donations and/or historical items. Please take a moment while visiting the library or museum to view these wonderful treasures. If you have a Lititz item that you wish to donate, please contact a board member. Your gift is tax deductible, and will ensure that your item will be preserved and cherished for generations to come. 2 original Lititz theatre chairs. These 2 interlocking style chairs were once part of the Lititz Theatre. Gift of Lititz Improvement, Inc. Original framed photograph of the construction of Lititz Springs National Bank. Generously donated by Glenn Zartman Lititz Express Almanac which was handed out to customers of J.H. Reitz in Millway. Donated by the Doug Shaw family. The Foundation is very thankful for the above generous gifts! Additional donations will be printed in future issues of the Historical Journal. The poem below originally appeared in the April 26th, 1926 edition of the Lititz Express: SPRING FEVER By Tom Dussinger You get that stretchy feelin But you re most too tired to stretch, You ain t got no ambition, And you re feelin like a wretch. It takes a lot of effort, As you start out for the day, To even think of workin When afflicted in this way. Most everyone gets stricken, With this funny sort of thing, It gets you without warnin And it s one sure sign of Spring.

5 5 Warwick Township spotlighted in upcoming book Beginning in January 2010, board member Cory Van Brookhoven began writing and researching a volume on Warwick Township for release through Arcadia Publishing s Images of America Series. The area was first settled by Richard Carter in 1716 and originally included the townships of Warwick, Clay, Penn, Elizabeth, and the Borough of Lititz. Eventually, the area was sectioned off into hamlets and now encompasses Brunnerville, Rome, Lexington, Kissel Hill, Millport, Millway, Pine Hill, and Rothsville. In an effort to gather information and photographs for the book, Van Brookhoven sent countless s, made dozens of phone calls, and spent many hours with various local residents of the township. In addition, many months were spent poring over old maps, cemetery records, deeds, postcards, photographs, books, and the Lititz Record Express s newspaper archive. Most importantly though, he spent a large amount of time sitting with local residents who had stories to share. I felt it was very important to gather a lot of first hand oral history from township residents says Van Brookhoven. Nothing can tell the story quite like folks who lived through it and were there he adds. Van Brookhoven is the grandson of the late Robert Sketch Mearig who collected and enjoyed Lititz and Warwick Township history his entire life. A large amount of photographs and memorabilia pictured in the finished book came directly from Mearig s collection. My late grandfather s extensive collection was an invaluable resource for the book, and I have Cover of Van Brookhoven s upcoming book dedicated the book to him said Van Brookhoven. We all miss him, and it was through him and my mother that I was bitten with the local history bug many years ago. I feel honored and humbled that I may continue his joy of collecting and sharing in local knowledge. The book traces the township s early days and includes chapters on Transportation, School and Churches, Hotels and Taverns, The Elements, Around the Neighborhood, People, and Businesses. The volume contains 128 pages and also includes among many others pictures and information on early fire fighting, unique postcards, The Millway religious encampment meetings, unique citizens, and early transportation methods including the Reading and Columbia Rail Road running through Rothsville and Millway, and the Conestoga Traction Company s trolley system that ran through Kissel Hill. The majority of images used in the book have never been published. I did the best I could to give readers a glimpse into the township of days gone by. I took great care to make it as thorough and complete as possible, touching on as many early businesses and aspects of the neighborhood that I could states Van Brookhoven. I can t thank the contributors enough for their enthusiasm and willingness to share photos and information with me to make this book the best it could be. I am very pleased with the end result, and I can t wait for its release he added. Van Brookhoven has written two previous booklets on Lancaster County strongman Jack Fasig, and several entries in the Lititz 250th: An Historical Anthology book. He holds an Associate s Degree in Liberal Arts from Harrisburg Area Community College, and a Bachelor of Science in Telecommunications from Kutztown University. Aside from volunteering at the Lititz Historical Foundation, he works fulltime at Comcast Cable as a Producer and Editor. Books will be for sale starting Monday April 18th, and will be carried at the Historical Foundation s gift shop, Aaron s Books in Lititz, Barnes and Noble, and Borders bookstore. The book can also be ordered through various online booksellers and various historical societies around the county. 50% of the proceeds that Van Brookhoven receives will be donated to the Lititz Public Library. Please read the Lititz Record Express for information regarding on location book signings.

6 6 PICTURE QUIZ Above is a picture of the Lititz Post Office with operations planned underway to relocate to the Warwick Township processing facilty. In what year was this post office built? Answer to last issue s picture quiz: This was a picture of the Warwick House, which currently is the Toy Soldier Restaurant and Bar. Lititz Historical Foundation s Historical Journal P.O. Box E. Main Street, Lititz, PA FORWARDING SERVICE REQUESTED Non Profit Org. U.S Postage PAID Permit #141 Lititz PA